Method of and apparatus for transporting materials



@$96,196 E. (l.v AULD ET AL Y METHOD oF AND APPApATusFoR mnmsroiffaef MATERIALS .Emme 3 13.119240 Filed Feb. s, 192%:

4 Sheets-Sheet l Suma@ 3 1924. Y E, 96,196 Y E. c. AULD Er .AL METHOD 0F Arm APPARATUS :ma mmsomine mTERALs Filed Feb. s., 1922 4 sheets-sheet 2 3mm@ 3 N240 u DE. C; AULD ET AL METHOD oF AND APPARATUS PQR amsromlmem'rmlms F11-ed Feb. :5, 1922A. v 4-shee'ts-s'heet s "Patented June 3,1924".

UNI-TED STATES Parlsrrrv oFFicE.

'ELS-IE' C. .AULD AND GUSTAVE E. HUTTLE, OF SCOTTDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

'METHOD 0F AND APPARATUS FOR TRAN SPORTING MATERIALS.

Application filed February 3, 19.22. Serial No. 533,775.

To all wrom 'it may concern.:

Be it known that we, ELGIE C. AULD and GUsTAvE E. HUTTLE, citizenspf the United. States, and residents of Scottdale, in the county of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methodsof and Apparatus for Transporting Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the conveyance of mined materials such as coal or mineral ores within mines,`and has for one of its objects the provision of a system using an endless conveyer for carrying the material through the. min e. to suitable storage or loading bins at or adjacent to the mouth of the mine. v

In the existing mines it is the. general practice to load the mined material into small mine-,cars adjacent to the point ofv mining, and to then push or otherwise convey these cars out to the corridors or headings of the mine. The loaded cars,` either singly or in trains` are then hauled by mules or other suitable means through the corridors or headings to tipples or loading bins at. the mouth of the mines. Handling the mined materials in this manner requires the use otl tracks which are expensive, a large and constantly increasing equipment of cars, and numerous mules or other conveying means for hauling the cars, and also requires the employment of many skilledV men for handling the cars, building or extending and keeping the tracks in repair, etc.

Our system utilizes the cars and tracks within the rooms and sub-entries. the ma teria-l as mined being loadedinto the cars in the usual manner.` The loaded cars as filled are pushed or otherwise conveyed the short distanct` necessary to haul the-m to the main corridor or entry where they are run upon van unloading or dumping device which emp.

ties the cars and distributes the. mined ma terial upon an endless conveyen of which an operatively connected series of units extend through thermain entry to a loadingl tipple or bin at the mine outlet where the material is discharged from the conveyers.

ne object ot our invention is to provide a practical, cheap and highly e'flicient conveying system for receiving and handling ,will be, rhad byjoining Figures l and Ia on the lines Figure 2 is a sectionalelevation of the part of the mine shown in Figure l, and

Figure 2a a similar sectional elevation of `that portion of the mine shown in Figure 1",

a complete sectional elevation being shown by joining Figures 2 and '2n on the lines y'Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of thc conveyer systeml showing the delivery end of one eonveyer unit in relative position with respect to the receiving end of the next unit. l

Figure 4 is a top plan of the driving mechanism used for each conveyer unit.

Figure 5 is an end elevation of one form of dumping device usable in emptying the loaded tram cars. j

Figure 6, is a side elevation of the dumping device of Figure 5.

Figure 'i' is a diagrammatic plan of the conveying system of this ap lication as applied to a mine having a p urality of subentries.

The particular embodiment of our invenf tion disclosed herein. although capable of use in connection with handling of other materials in places analogous to a mine, is particularly designated with reference. to the handling of mined coal within a mine, and, as shown herein. is composed ot a plu rality of landings within the mine having revolving dumps within ready7 access to the mining face of thel coal seam and a system of convcyers passing under all ot the dumps. each convey-er discharging its load upon a. succeeding one. Tightening means are provided or keeping the conveyers taut and also other means for causing an even distri'- but-ion of the coal upon the conveyers.

The invention will now be described in detail, referring to the drawings by reference characters, the same characters being used to designate like parts throughout the several views.

In the.drawings, the letter A designates the main entry or corridor of a mine having a plurality of sub-entries or rooms B leading therefrom. The rooms B also may be sub-divided when foundA desirable or TlQCeSSUy.l V

The usual tracks 2 are provided in the subentries or rooms B, and along the inner end of the main entry on which the usual tram cars 3 are adapted Ato travel, and the coal being mined is transported in the cars 3 from the mining face of the coal to the nearest or most convenient one of the conveyer loading points or landings C.

Our improved endless belt conveyer system starts from this landing or point C, which comprises a rotary dumping device D (to be described in detail later), which unloads the tram cars 3, and delivers the unloaded coal through a distributingr chute 6 onto one of the units 7 of the endless conveyer. It will, of course be understood that any desired form of car emptying mechanism may be used in lieu of the rotary dumping mechanism shown.

The dumping device D is supported upon a-suitable framework 8 above a pit 9 formed in the entryand comprises a hopper 10, which has its open bottom joined to the distributing chute 6. A rotary cylinder or barrel 11 is mounted in the upper portion of the hopper 10 which is adapted to be ro- A tated on anti-friction rollers 12, either bv hand or power. The barrel 11 is adapted to receive the tram cars 3 for dumping, being provided with vtrack rails 14 which normally are in line with the track rails 2 in the entry, and suitable securing or locking plates or flanges 15 are provided, which are secured to and extend out from the sides of the 'member llto engage over the hubsor ends of the axles of the cars to lock the cars-in position when the barrel 11 is lrotated in removing the coal from a loaded CHI.

An endless conveyer, which extends ,from the landing or point C along the main entry l and out past the mine entrance to a suitable rear of the roller, 16 and in a lower plane,

comprises power driven rollers 19 and 2O `iournaled in a stand 21, and receiving power from a motor 22 or other suitable prime mover, through a shaft 23 and the reducing gears 24, 25, 26, 27, and 27a. The reverse or under side of the conveyer is trained over and under the roller 19, and over and under the roller 20, in this way securing a maximum surface Contact on the rollers. A spring tensioned tightening roller 28 is mounted at the rear of the roller- 19, and is adapted to bear upon the reverse portion of the conveyer member 7 to take up any slack, thus keeping the conveyer belt taut at all times.

One end of each of the conveyer units 7 overlaps the rear end of a succeeding unit and discharges into a distributing chute 6 which distributes the conveyed material upon the receiving end of the'succeeding conveyer. y

Vhile we have only shown one landing C in Figures 1, 1, 2 and 2, any desired number may be employed, in such case the landings leading from sub-main entries or passages, as shown di'agrammatically in Figure 7. Each landing will be provided with a dumping mechanism and pit as before described, it being understood that the conveyer unit 7 which terminates at the landing extends down into the pit and under the hopper and distributing chute 6.

It will be apparent that a conveyer' system of any length may be built by multiplying the number of units 7, and that the length of each unit will depend upon condi! tions within the mine, such as the aline- .ment of the heading. The conveyer sys` tem may start from any point within the mine and extendto a point outside of the mine and along the surface on the exterior of the mine, to any suitable terminal such as the river'terminal loading bins 30, shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In the practice of our improved method the coal or otherimaterial being mined, as

mined is loaded into the mine cars 3 and the loaded cars are then pushed from the rooms or sub-entries into the main heading and to the landing'C. The loadedcars are then transferred to the car unloading mechanismv D and emptied into the receiving and distributing chute 6, and the mined materials are delivered by the chute 6 upon the receiving end of the lirst of the endless conveyer ,units 7. This endless conveyer unit 7 then transfers the minedmaterials to a receiving chute (a and the materials are discharged and distributed by the chute 6a upon the receiving end .of the next of the conveyer units 7. The mined materials are will be added to the equipment, the dumping mechanism being moved 'ino' a com aratively also, or else an additional car dumping mechanism being added. By using standardized lendless conveyer units, a spare unit can always bekept on handcin readiness to be added to the haulage system. i,

The many advantages otour improved conveyer system, which will be readily appreciated by those skilled. in the art, result from the avoidance of `constantly increasing the length o't the mine car tracks and adding to the number of mine cars and mine car hauling equipment,` as is necessary i* .in existing mine haulage systems, with an increase in the capacityiof the mine or increase in the length 4of haulage of the mined materials.. c l

Instead ot' makingv up trains of loaded mine cars and hauling the loaded cars through the min'e to its mouth, and, after being emptied, hauling the empty cars back into the mine to the place or places o t loadsinall number of mine cars and limited amount of mine track is all that is necessary, and the mine cars together with the continuously operating endless conveyer 4units enables a practically constant supply of coal being carried from the mine.

vByremoving the coal in a practically constant stream instead of intermittently as in the old haulage systems using trains ot cars, the necessary capacity of. the endless conveyors in orderv to handle the output ,of the mine is greatly reduced and the cost of maintenance correspondingly lessened.

Many modilicationsin the construction and arrangement of the apparatus used in practicing our improved method may be made Wit-hout departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

7 We claim- 1.v In a mine the combination with the mine heading, of a car track in said heading, said track having a series of mine carsthereon, a car unloading mechanism Within said heading for emptying loaded mine cars hauled thereto on said car track,and an endless conveyer system arranged to receive and transfer to the mine entrance the mined in aing . mine heading,

terials delivered by said car emptying mech anisiii to said conveyer system.

2. In a mine the combination with the.

mine heading, ot a car track at the inner end thereof, ysaid track having a series ot mine cars thereon, a car unloading mechanism Within said heading for emptying loaded mine cars hauled thereto on said car track, and an endless conveyer system extending through said heading and adapted to receive and transfer to the mine entrance the mined materials delivered by .said car emptying mechanism to said conveyer system.

S, In a mine thev combination with the -mine heading, vof a cai track adjacent to the inner end thereof, said track having a series of mine cars thereon, a car unloading meehanism in said heading for emptying loaded mine cars hauled thereto on said car track, an endless conveyer system extending through said heading and adapted -to carry to the mine-entrance. the mined materials delivered to said conveyersystem'by said car emptying mechanism, and means at the mine entrance arranged to dispose of the mined materials delivered thereto b v said endless conveyer system.v

4. In a mine the combination with the mine heading, of a car track at the inner end of said heading, said car track havinr a series of mine` cars thereon, a car unloa mechanism in said heading for emptying loaded mine cars hauled thereto on said car track and an endless conveyer system arranged to receive and convey to the mine entrance the mined materials delivered to said conveyer system by said car emptying mechanism, said conveyer system comprising a' plurality of' separate units and one unit. being arranged to deliver materials carried thereby to another unit of said conveyer system.

In a mine the combination With the ot a cari/ 'track'at the inner end of said heading, said car'ftrack havin a series of mine cars-1thereon,y al car unloa ing mechanism in saidlieadfngglfor.emptying loaded mine cars carried" hereto, 'on said car track and an endl v systein-ar ito lhe mine, en-

ranged to recei'v, y l trance'the mined n sidel ere'dthereto by said car emptying mechanism, ,saidy endless coiiveyer systemcomprising aplurality of separate unitstand thedelivery. end of one unit being elevatedjaboveA hereceivine end of another unit to dischargefthe mine materials thereon by gravity.

6. In a mine the combination with a mine heading, of a car track at the inner end of said heading, said car track having a` Series of mine cars thereon, a car unloading mech anism within said mine for emptying loadedmine cars carried thereto on said car track and an endless conveyer system arranged to receive and carry to the mine entrance the mined materials delivered thereto by said `car emptying mechanism, said endlessconveyer system comprising a plurality of separate units With the delivery end of one unit elevated and overlapping the receiving end of another unit to thereby discharge'the mined materials by gravity.

7. In a. mine the combination with-a mine heading, of a oar track at the inner end of said heading, said car track having a series of mine cars thereon, a car unloading mechanism within said heading for emptying loaded mine cars carried thereto on said car track and an endless conveyer system arranged to eceive and carry to the mine Aentrance, the mined materials delivered thereto by said car emptying mechanism, said conveyer system comprising a )lurality of separate units having the delivery end of each unit elevated' above the receiving end of its adjoining unit, and a hopper arranged to distribute upon the receiving unit the materials discharged into the hopper from the elevated end of the delivery unit.

' 8. In a mine the combination with a mine heading,lof a car track at the inner end of .said heading, said car track having a series. of mine cars thereon, Ia. car unloading mechanism within said mine for emptying loaded mine cars carried thereto on said car track and an endless conveyer system arranged to receive and carry to the mine entrance the mined materials delivered thereto by said car emptying' mechanism, said endless conveyer system comprising a plurality of separate and independently operated units with the end of one unit arranged to discharge materials carried thereby upon` the receiving end of its adjoining unit. v

9. 1n a mine haulage system the combination with a mine havin a main heading or entry and sub-entries eading therefrom, of a car track connecting said sub-entries with the inner end of said main entry, said car track having a series of mine cars thereon, a. car unloading mechanism ,adjacent to 'the inner end of said main entry adapted to empty loaded mine cars delivered thereto on said car track, and an endless conveyer system adapted to receive and transfer to the mine entrance the mined materials discharged upon said endless-conveyer system by said car emptying mechanism.

10. The method of conveying mined materials within mines, which consists in loading the mined materials in mine cars at the Working face of the mine, transferring the loaded cars to an unloading station adjacent to the inner end of the mine heading,

ferring the mined materials to the innermost unit of an endless conveyer system within the heading, and carrying the mined materials as loaded in said conveyer unit toward the mine entrance and transferring the mined materials from one conveyer unit to. the next by gravity in transferring the mined materials to the mine entrance.

12. The' method of conveying mined materials Within mines, Which consists in loading the mined materials in mine cars at the working' face of the mine, transferring the loaded carsA to an unloading station adjacent to the inner end of the mine heading, emptying the loaded cars and thereby transferring the mined materials to an endless conveyer system within the heading, carrying the mined materials on the endless conveyer system to the entrance to the mine,

' and discharging the mined materialscarried by said endless conveyer system into a. receiving hopper adjacent to the mine entrance.

In testimony whereof, We have hereunto set our hands. 1

ELGIE C. AULD. GUSTAVE E. HUTTLE. 

